Reform the royal family? Bangkok’s 10000 people’s march is aimed at the king of Thailand for the first time

In Thailand with constitutional monarchy, the king is not only a symbolic head of state, but also an inviolable spiritual leader. There are special provisions in Thai criminal law to punish offending royal family members. But in Thailand this month’s March, the king’s power was challenged for the first time. on August 16, the largest demonstration since 2014 broke out in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. More than 10000 people took to the streets in the new epidemic, demanding that the current prime minister, bayou, step down, amend the Constitution and re-election. What is more special about this large-scale march is that some of the marchers targeted at the royal family, demanding that the king’s power be restricted and the royal family be reformed. The former King Bhumibol adud, who died in 2016, is the longest reigning king in the world and is deeply loved by the Thai people. However, his son, the current king, Ouji lalonggong, caused controversy because of his luxurious lifestyle, numerous concubines and strengthening the king’s power. According to Reuters on August 16, most of the protestors who took part in the march in Bangkok on Sunday were young students, and the organizers included student organizations such as the “free people” and the Thai student union. the former army commander-in-chief bayou seized power in a coup in 2014, followed by Thailand’s five-year military government. In 2019, Bayu won the general election and was elected prime minister. Then he resigned as the chairman of the junta authority and declared Thailand a normal democracy. However, before the election results came out, the Liberal Party of the anti military government, the new future party, was dissolved by the Thai constitutional court. From then on, student organizations began to accuse Bayu of manipulating the election and demanding that the Bayu government step down. as the new epidemic hit Thailand’s economy, opposition to the government continued to rise. Since last month, student organizations have held small-scale demonstrations almost every day. Affected by the epidemic, Thailand’s economy declined by 1.8% in the first quarter, the largest contraction since the fourth quarter of 2011. Thailand’s GDP is expected to shrink by 5% to 6% this year. In addition to demanding that bayou step down, some students in the March last week demanded that the king’s power be restricted and that the royal family be reformed. In Thailand, the royal family has always been regarded as the arbiter. It was the first time in years that the royal family had been the object of protest. on Tuesday, the protestors put forward 10 demands for the reform of the royal family, including abolishing the punishment of offending the royal family in the criminal law, reducing the allocation of funds from the state budget to the king, cutting off the Royal Property and the assets managed by the Royal Property Bureau, forbidding the king from supporting the coup, forbidding the royal family from expressing political views, abolishing the king’s control over some military forces, and allowing parliament to refuse the king When the behavior is investigated. During the march on Sunday, some protestors chanted to overthrow the feudal system and reform the royal family. Meanwhile, some supporters of the royal family held up the portrait of the king and resolutely defended the royal family. In addition to being the head of state, the king of Thailand is also the commander-in-chief of the army in name. The army is only loyal to the king. The king has the right to appoint successors, grant amnesty and grant Royal approval to bills. The elected prime minister can only take effect with the signature and consent of the king. Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal law stipulates that anyone who slanders, insults or attacks the king, Queen or their descendants shall be sentenced to three to 15 years’ imprisonment. Any marcher who proposes to reform the royal family in protest may be sentenced for offending the monarch. The former King Bhumibol has been in power for 70 years and experienced 20 coups. He has been playing the role of mediator in domestic politics and has been committed to promoting agricultural development all the year round. He is a god like existence in the hearts of Thai people. However, his son and the current king wajilalonggong frequently made headlines because of his luxurious style, making the deputy commander of the guard a queen and many concubines. when Thailand was in a state of emergency during the outbreak of Xinguan, wajilalonggong took the queen and his concubines to Germany for a holiday, and only when they needed to participate in national activities could they return to Thailand temporarily. in Thailand’s constitution in 2017, Article 6 stipulates that no one can make charges against the king. In 2018, the Royal Property Office, a quasi government agency, announced that all assets under its management would be transferred to Ouji lalonggong. In politics, wajilalonggong directly intervened in the election in 2019, demanding that his elder sister, Wu wenle, should not stand for a pro Thaksin party. At that time, uwenrat had given up his royal title and was ready to run for election as a civilian. Last Wednesday, wajilalonggong made its first public appearance since this month. In his speech at that time, wajilalonggong did not respond to the issue of Royal reform in the protest procession, but only called on Thailand to maintain order and peace. analysts believe that the protestors’ demands for Royal reform put the Thai government in a dilemma. If the government takes drastic measures, it will increase ammunition for the protestors’ demands; if it lets itself go, more protestors will break the traditional taboo and target the king.